The people of the Sahara are not accustomed to large groups of dinosaur researchers rolling through their villages. Every time we stopped, our vehicle convoy was met with warm hearts and open hands.  On the occasion that we stop to spend some time with the locals and discuss our plans and our mission, large crowds gathered filled with curiosity.  Sometimes we gave out small gifts to those around us - small bags of sugar, tea, or candy. Sometimes gifts are given to us. 

In a room in the remote oasis of In Abangharit,
A girl shows her dolls to Gabrielle,
dressed in her sisters clothes.

The last town on the map before we entered the true desert - and a field of drifting dunes - was In Abangharit. "In" means "well" in Arabic and the team had visited In Abangharit in 2000 at the very end of the field season. There was a big reunion between Gabe and the three daughters of the chief off the village. Before we knew it, the women had completely outfitted Gabe in the local costume - traditional veiled dress of long wraps of colorful fabric. This was a big hit with all who were there, and everyone had a good laugh and shared a lot of smiles before we were on our way again.

Translations of Translators

At a remote site in the Sahara, Paul finds the backbone of a sauropod dinosaur, drawing the curiousity
of the expedition's guards.

How many languages do you speak?  Although French is Niger's official language, it is home to many ethnic groups that speak many different languages.  French, Hausa (the language of the Hausa people and the language of commerce throughout West Africa) Tomacheck (the native language of the Touareg people) and Djerma (the language of the Djerma people from the southern part of the country) are spoken amongst our eight Nigerien team members. Most of the American team members don't speak French so if we want to speak to one of the Nigerienes - or they to us - we need someone to translate English to French and a second translator to convert French toTomacheck, Hausa or Djerma.  It is a complicated system, but, to make everything a little easier, we are all learning bits and pieces of the other languages around us.  Our favorite phrase so far is "aman iman" - a Tomacheck phrase that means "water is life." ...continued